Madera County, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit-free threshold
- 3 sq ft of window signs and decals
- Above threshold
- Counted into building's total sign area
- Coverage area
- Oakhurst/Ahwahnee Plan Area only, not countywide
- Building sign cap
- 1 sq ft per lineal foot, 85 sq ft max
- Enforcement
- Nuisance abatement under § 18.91.080(E)
Summary
In the Oakhurst/Ahwahnee Plan Area of unincorporated Madera County, a window sign under three square feet needs no sign permit at all, but anything larger counts against the building's overall sign area. Madera County Code Sections 18.91.040(B)(1)(a) and 18.91.050(A)(7) set that three-square-foot line for decals and illuminated window signs alike.
"Window sign" means a sign permanently painted upon a window, or intended to be viewed only from outside a window, including appurtenant signs. ... a.Window signs: window signs exceeding three square feet in area shall be computed in the building sign area. Appurtenant signs shall be computed in the window sign area. ... 7.Total window sign area for a business including decals and illuminated signs, not exceeding three square feet in area;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).
Full Breakdown
90 sign rules instead. 020 defines a "window sign" as "a sign permanently painted upon a window, or intended to be viewed only from outside a window, including appurtenant signs," and separately defines a "window decal" as an appurtenant decal such as one advertising accepted credit cards. 040(B)(1), a business's maximum sign area is generally one square foot per lineal foot of building frontage, capped at eighty-five square feet per business unit; subsection (a) folds window signage into that budget once it crosses the threshold: "window signs exceeding three square feet in area shall be computed in the building sign area," with any appurtenant signs counted as part of the window sign area.
" In practice, a shop can display up to three square feet of window signage, decals included, with no permit and no effect on its allowed building sign area; a fourth square foot of window signage pulls the entire window display into the permitted building sign calculation.
Violations & Fines
Window signage that exceeds the three-square-foot exemption without being counted toward, and kept within, the building's permitted sign area is enforced through Section 18.91.080(E): it is declared a public nuisance, removable at the sign owner's expense, with abatement costs recovered under the Chapter 18.112 procedure. A sign left unused for advertising for 180 consecutive days must also be removed by its owner or the property's owner or lessee under that same subsection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much window signage can I have without a permit in Oakhurst?
What happens once my window signs go over three square feet?
Does this three-square-foot rule apply everywhere in Madera County?
Do window decals like a credit-card sticker count toward the limit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madera County
California rules heatmap·Compare Madera County to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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